When you think of a puzzle lock and how it should be solved, the first think that comes to mind is probably: how do you unlock it? What's its locking mechanism? It's a fair assumption, given how puzzle locks have been presented before. However, designer Jin-Hoo Ahn (who also designed the Cast G & G) takes a completely new approach and makes us think of puzzle locks in a whole different manner with the Cast Padlock. The theme for this puzzle is "obstinacy".

Although it appears like a regular puzzle lock, the Cast Padlock doesn't have a functional keyhole. You won't be unlocking it, but rather taking it apart. Four pieces make up this intriguing design, but in order to solve it, you'll definitely need some "obstinacy". What's more, the solving process is not at all straightforward, so be prepared for a tough challenge.

One aspect of the puzzle that stands out immediately is its tiny size. This a puzzle that measures only 4.3cm x 3.3cm (1.7" x 1.3"). IT's a tiny devil, is what it is...

(Click to Enlarge)

The four pieces that comprise the puzzle can rotate freely around the common central point. But, alas, rotating the pieces alone won't get you anywhere. You need to find an exact position that lets you separate the round semi-circles, but for that the two elliptical pieces in the middle need to be positioned correctly as well. It's a discovery journey in itself, as you learn how the inner mechanism works and keeps the pieces interlocked.

I found this puzzle extremely difficult to solve. It took me a few days to completely understand how the pieces interacted with each other. As if taking it apart wasn't a hell of a challenge, putting it together again is no small feat. This is rated as a level 5/6 by Hanayama, but in my opinion it's definitely a 6/6. If you like your puzzles crazy difficult, I can highly recommend this one, and you won't be disappointed.

Solution: If you need the solution for this one, you can download it here.

(Click to Enlarge)

Closing Comments:

The Cast Padlock is unique. There is no similar design out there and so, nothing to compare to or take hints from. It's a beautiful and awe-inspiring design, and therefore another worthy member of the Cast family.

For centuries, people have been fascinated with chess, a game that requires deep concentration and logical thinking. Its pieces, symbols of a society that once dominated all walks of life, represent everything, from the ordinary people (Pawn) to the highest power (King). It's no wonder then, that Hanayama decided to make Marcel Gillen's designs into a special edition collection of their flagship brand, the Cast Puzzles. For me, at least, it was enough to fascinate me all over again, just as much as when I first learned how to play chess.

The Cast Chess collection is a series of six different puzzles, each representing a piece from the original game of chess. Since the Pawn is the first to move in the "battlefield", I thought it best to start with it as well. It's a simple piece, but never underestimate a pawn...

The Chess puzzles are among the most beautiful by Hanayama. They're chrome plated, which gives them this premium and polished look. They're also about the same size as a regular Cast Puzzle, with the Pawn measuring 5.5cm x 3.7cm (2.2" x 1.5"). Each puzzle has hidden inside a coin with its respective name and symbol engraved on it, and your goal is to find out how the mechanism works in order to free the coin.

As for their difficulty level, the Chess puzzles are not officially rated by Hanayama, so it's more of an opinion based on whoever solves them. Each Chess puzzle has a different solution, so their difficulty will be varied as well. Nevertheless, expect a challenging puzzle and you won't be disappointed. I would rate the Pawn in the Hanayama scale as a level 4/6.

The Pawn has a very deceiving and clever mechanism which, even though it can be challenging to figure out, it can be solved by accident. I know, because it happened to me. I solved it, but I didn't know at the time how I did it. I had to inspect and study the mechanism to really understand how the puzzle locks and unlocks, which in itself is a challenge on its own.

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Closing Comments:

The Chess Pawn is a great start to this special collection by Hanayama. It can be attempted by anyone, even if they're not familiarized with puzzles and, as a collector, it's with great pleasure that I add this stunning-looking puzzle to my collection. Great as a gift for both lovers of puzzles and chess. Can't wait to review the rest of them.

If there's one thing that I learned from almost 10 years of puzzling is to identify puzzles from the most notorious and prominent puzzle designers just by looking at them. That's what happened to one of the most recent Hanayama Cast Puzzles, the Mobius, designed by Oskar van Deventer from The Netherlands. If you don't know Oskar's creations, he is a master of mazes. Many of his puzzles involve you navigating something through a series of obstacles and paths, and the Cast Mobius is no different...well, a little different. The theme for the puzzle is "Belt" - The question is: Can you unbuckle it?

The design of the puzzle, as the name suggests, is inspired by the Möbius Strip, discovered by two mathematicians, August Ferdinand Möbius and Johann Benedict Listing. There's a ring locked inside the strip and many obstacles on its surface, which will make your job of releasing the ring that much harder. It is a level 4/6 puzzle, as rated by the manufacturer, so a moderate challenge awaits you.

The puzzle has the Hanayama distinctive feature of contrasting colors between the two pieces, with the strip being made of a material that looks like brass, and the ring made from plain old aluminum. Both pieces are well made and polished, a standard with all Hanayama puzzles.

It's hard to classify this puzzle solely as a 2D or a 3D maze. My take is that it's neither and both - Maybe the correct answer is 2.5D...

The ring has a diameter larger than the strip, so it can navigate in any direction, as long as it doesn't encounter any of the many obstacles lying around in the strip's surface. While attempting to solve the puzzle, you'll find obstacles on both sides of the strip, so you'll need to be constantly flipping the puzzle to see where you should go. Keep in mind that the exit point to release the ring is the same as the starting point.

To be honest, I didn't find this puzzle to be as challenging as the manufacturer makes it seem. The puzzle looks a little intimidating at first, but with a little trial and error you should be able to solve it in under 10 minutes or so. I think it's more a level 3 than a 4. Putting the ring back is not that challenging either. There are multiple ways to find a path to the exit, though. Some quicker than others, of course.

Even though I found the Cast Mobius a little easier than I would like, I still think it's a fun puzzle to play with, and a nice challenge, especially for anyone not that familiar with puzzles. It's one of the most impressive designs in the Hanayama series, and that's a great achievement by Oskar van Deventer.

Availability:PuzzleMaster is the way to go for everything Cast Puzzles, including the beautiful Cast Mobius. All the others in the series are also available here.

In keeping with the times, Hanayama's recently released Cast Hashtag is an appropriate name for this simple, yet deceptively difficult puzzle. Designed by a collaboration of two known puzzle designers, Yoshiyuki Kotani and Kirill Grebnev, this is one not to underestimate, despite its difficulty level of 3/6.

This Cast puzzle is actually known in Japan as Shift, which you can actually see in the puzzle, as the word "Shift" is engraved on two of the pieces. To be honest, I prefer the name Shift, since I'm not a fan of all this whole Hashtag thing, but I understand why they rename it. The word carries much more familiarity here in the west, and since Hanayama is a business, it makes sense.

The puzzle is comprised of four apparently identical pieces, save for some extra holes in two of the pieces. They are interlocked, but can move back and forth quite effortlessly. You need to find a way to separate these pieces, but be careful when trying to put them back together. Combine them wrong and you can lock your puzzle in a way that would make almost impossible to take apart again.

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I took the puzzle apart quite fast after fiddling with it for a couple of minutes. That part is not that difficult. Putting it back together wasn't that long either, maybe five minutes. The hard part was after I put it back to its original state.

Not sure if there's a design flaw with this puzzle or if I'm looking at it wrong, but mine seems locked and I can't, for the life of me, take it apart again. As I mentioned above, all four pieces look identical, but if that were the case, it wouldn't matter how you put them back together, since they would interact all the same. As it is, I can safely say they are indeed sightly different, because even looking at the solution I can't solve it again. Since I was solving it on my own the first time I couldn't have known that there was a correct way to put it back together and a wrong way. I would advise you to take a look at the solution once you take it apart or the same might happen to you. In the meantime, I'll keep trying to solve mine again. Maybe I'm missing something.

This puzzle reminds me of the Cast Rattle, another four-piece puzzle with interlocking pieces, albeit a bit more difficult.

I have mixed feelings towards the Cast Hashtag (Shift). The puzzle does look nice and has an interesting design, but if it does indeed lock on you this easily, an until I'm proven wrong, I have to disregard it as a worthy addition to the Cast family.

Availability: You can find the Cast Hashtag at PuzzleMaster for the usual $15.99 CAD. All other Cast puzzles from Hanayama can also be purchased here.

The most simple answer is sometimes staring you in the face - This is a statement that truly describes my feelings for the Cast Diamond, a beautiful and elegant puzzle designed by American Scott Elliott.

The Cast Diamond consist of two identical parts, albeit in contrasting colors and, when solved, the two pieces interlock perfectly to show a diamond shape. It is one of the smallest in the Cast Puzzle family, at just 5.1cm x 3.9cm in diameter (2" x 1.5").

This one was a pleasant surprise in many ways, starting by the way it was packaged. As you know, most Cast Puzzles are presented in their finished or solved state, and your task is to figure out how to take it apart. There is no solution provided with the puzzle, so you're on your own. After you finally take it apart, only half of the puzzle is now solved, as you need to find a way to put it back together. The Cast Diamond, however, turns the whole concept around and starts by asking you how to put the two pieces together, since the puzzle is presented in its unsolved state. There's a reason for this, as you'll soon discover.

(Click to Enlarge) - The state in which it's packaged

Because the puzzle has a very simple solution, with basically one motion, having shown it in its solved state would be too easy to figure out the whole solving process. Instead, they cleverly packaged it so that you'll have to really discover how it works. And the solution couldn't be more deceiving.

I believe this puzzle will have many dividing opinions in terms of its actual difficulty. Hanayama classified it as one of the easiest on the entire Cast family (1/6), and I strongly disagree...as with many others in their collection, which I think are wrongly classified. Now, this may vary from person to person, and how good you are at solving puzzles, or how good you think you are... But the fact is, this puzzle is not that easy to solve, no matter how seasoned of a puzzler you are, simply because it requires an out-of-the-box thinking. It doesn't mean that it can't be solved quickly, it depends on how you look at it and think in terms of symmetry.

I felt quite stupid once I figured it out, because it really is a simple solution, a genius one I might add, and I wasn't able to see it for a good half an hour. You'll see immediately why they chose to package it in its unsolved state, because it's very easy to take it apart.

(Click to Enlarge) - In its solved state (Opposite side as top photo)

Closing Comments:

Reminiscent of the Cast Marble in terms of the solving process, the Cast Diamond has one of the most elegant solutions in the entire Cast Puzzle series. I really loved it. You can pass it around on family and friends to see how quickly they come up with the solution. Simply beautiful!

Availability: The Cast Diamond is available at PuzzleMaster for just $15.99 CAD. If you don't have any Cast Puzzle in your collection, you can get the entire series for just $799.99 CAD.

The IQ series by SmartGames is one of their best brands and probably the most diversified in the logic games scene. If you like puzzles, chances are that at least one of the 10+ IQ games available right now is for you. The newest member in the family is the IQ Focus, designed by Raf Peeters. A packing puzzle game for 1 player, which is surely the hardest one yet in the series. This one is only for the bravest puzzlers out there.

What, at first, looks like your average packing puzzle with several polyominoes sizes, is soon discovered to be a much more interesting and complex game. The game is comprised of ten dissimilar polyominoes, each one with a different color combination. You'd think that fitting all the pieces inside the game board would be sufficient, but there's actually a very different concept at play here. The goal is to fit all the pieces inside (of course)...but the trick is to do so in such a way that the nine central squares shall match the same color configuration shown in the challenge. This will be pretty effortless in the first challenges, but wait 'till you get to the "Wizard" ones...

(Click to Enlarge) - Challenge 17

This is one of those games where it's very easy to understand, but a pain to solve - in a good way, if you like a challenge. The first challenges even show you the first few pieces of the solution, so you just have to place a couple of the remaining pieces. The real challenge, however, starts when you won't have nothing but the central color configuration to guide you.

As you can imagine, only the central squares matter for the solution, so any colors outside of it won't be important. You can place a piece anywhere on the board as long as the squares in the middle match the challenge. All pieces must be used in order to have the correct and only solution.

The game box is cleverly designed with a lid that shows a transparent window the size of the central area while it blurs the rest of the game board. In order to guide you as you try to solve a particular challenge, you can close the lid and compare what is shown through the window with what you see in the challenge. There are 120 challenges divided in five levels of difficulty. If you want a challenge, go straight to the Wizard level.

(Click to Enlarge) - Challenge 65

Closing Comments:

IQ Focus is a puzzler's dream when it comes to finding a challenge that really tests your solving skills. I wouldn't recommend it to a beginner, because frustration would kick in rather soon and you wouldn't enjoy it. You could do fine with the first challenges, but those practically solve themselves, since you can see most of the solution anyway. It's one of the best in the IQ series, in my opinion.

Availability: There are lots of places where you can find the IQ Focus or any other by SmartGames. Amazon usually carries most of their catalog.

I've always been a passionate of music, besides puzzles, of course. And when there's a puzzle that combines these two passions, I got to have it. As you can see from past reviews, music has been present for a while in my blog: Cast Harmony, πano and The Orchestra Pit. So, you can see how excited I was when I saw Siebenstein-Spiele's latest design, Für Elise. The puzzle was designed by Jürgen Reiche.

A clear homage to Beethoven and his classic composition Für Elise, the puzzle will certainly inspire anyone who attempts to solve it... Or should I say, "play it". Made to look like a music sheet, the small frame only measures 9.7cm (3.8"). There are four identical pieces in the shape of musical notes, each with a different color, and the goal is to have them all fit inside the frame so that they won't overlap. It looks simple with just four pieces, but it's not as straightforward as you might think.

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I love packing puzzles. I must have over a hundred of them, and with each one, there's always something different to experience. It doesn't matter if you solve one or a hundred. A packing puzzle can always baffle you and put your skills to the test. Each one requires a different approach, since you're working with very different pieces. However, some of them might have some things in common...

The puzzle has a subtle feature that a distracted puzzler might overlook. Each piece has a couple of markings in one of the sides, while the opposite side is flat and smooth. What this tells you is that you can only use the side that's marked to solve the puzzle, which will limit by half the possible orientations.

This is not an overly difficult puzzle, but it had me thinking for a while. Rated by the manufacturer as a level 5/7 and PuzzleMaster as a level 7/10, this is very much so an average difficulty. Since you're working with a squared frame and four identical pieces, the logic says you're looking for a symmetrical solution, where the pieces will be displayed in a somewhat organized fashion and not haphazardly. Siebenstein-Spiele usually doesn't provide a solution with their puzzles, so you're pretty much on your own. If you really are desperate to find a solution, you can see one (and probably the only one) below.

Closing Comments:

Für Elise by Siebenstein-Spiele is a beautiful and lovely puzzle, with an elegant solution that only a music-themed one could provide. It's an accessible puzzle for all ages and skills, and will be a perfect gift for a music (and puzzle) lover.

Here's a type of puzzle that I like, which we don't see much in logic games: sequential movement. Making its way to SmartGames by the hand of Raf Peeters, Jump'IN is a cute game of sequential movement that is quite deceiving in its difficulty. Be prepared to be challenged in a way that not many logic games can do.

Presented in a small package, perfectly portable, Jump'IN features only eight pieces, three of them stationary and five movable. The pieces are quite small, so it's not recommended for children under the age of seven. The game board features a 5x5 grid and comes with a booklet with 60 challenges, divided in five increasing difficulties. There's much here for anyone, expert or not.

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The game can be a little confusing to understand at first, since there are some rules you have to understand before starting, but once they're learned, it becomes rather fun to play.

The main goal here is to have all the rabbits inside the brown holes. Since this is a sequential movement puzzle, there will always be an ideal solution with a minimum number of moves (identified in each challenge). Naturally, on your first try, you won't probably solve a challenge with the ideal number of moves, but once you know the final position for each piece it's easier to find a strategy and improve your solutions. It's also a way to improve your solving skills for the more difficult challenges that await you at the end of the booklet.

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The only stationary pieces in the game are the mushrooms. Once you put them on the board you can't move them for the remainder of that challenge. As for the rabbits and the foxes, each has a different kind of movement. The foxes move by sliding them back and forth on the board, whether it's vertically or horizontally, depending on the piece's orientation. The rabbits, as expected, move by jumping around over obstacles found on the board, either foxes, mushrooms or even other rabbits. They always have to jump over a piece and never over an empty space, and always land on another empty space. To better understand this, a minimum move has to be at least two spaces, never an adjacent one. Also, a rabbit inside a hole may not be indicative of its final position, as they can move around anytime if it's necessary.

I found this game to be quite challenging, but still fun whether you're playing at a low or a high level. Because the solution involves a sequential series of moves, you have to be thinking in advance, or there will be times when you're just moving around in trial and error. This can be avoided by simply using a strategy similar to chess, where you're always a few moves ahead. It can be very rewarding to solve a difficult challenge by using logic instead of just trying to see where some particular move leads you.

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Closing Comments:

I really liked SmartGames' new puzzle game. It makes you think in a different way and that's pretty good. The concept being so different from what's usually on offer by SmartGames also makes it a worthy addition to your collection.

Availability: You can find the Jump'IN game in your usual puzzle stores, like Amazon. Other games by SmartGames are also worth considering.

If you love Japanese culture or Asian architecture in general, SmartGames' new puzzle game is the right choice to occupy your free time for a while. Designed by Raf Peeters, this stunning game successfully captures the fascinating world of temples in its many shapes and forms. Do you dare enter this realm?

I really like the presentation in the Temple Connection. The design has this emphasis on contrast between the gray concrete and the red wood, and I think it works really well. There aren't many pieces to work with and that's the beauty of the game as well. With a minimalist design, you only need to concentrate on what's important. The main goal of the game is to connect the temples with roads and bridges. Sounds simple, but don't underestimate it just yet. Wait until you attempt one of the hardest challenges...

(Click to Enlarge) - Challenge 9

The rules, as always, are very easy to understand, which means that anybody, puzzler or not, can jump right in, regardless of experience.

Three different temples comprise the main game, with seven other different pieces that represent stretches of roads and bridges that can be connected on both ends. To easily identify the temples, you just need to notice the number of rooftops they have (1, 2 or 3).

Each temple has two doors, but not all doors are used at the same time, which means that some doors might not have a road connecting to them. This greatly affects the difficulty of the game, since you won't know beforehand which doors are used and which ones are unused.

(Click to Enlarge) - Challenge 42

As you set up a challenge, notice the orientation of the temples and their doors, and also which doors are on the ground floor and which ones on the second floor. A black or white arrow will indicate which floor you should see, respectively.

With a total of 80 challenges spread across five different difficulty levels, there's something for everyone here. Because there's only one solution per challenge, it's easy (figuratively speaking) to know when a puzzle should be solved. You don't need to use all the pieces to solve a particular challenge, but there should be a continuous path connecting each temple. Roads can pass underneath bridges, which creates a beautiful effect when solved.

(Click to Enlarge) - Challenge 76

Closing Comments:

What's not to like in the new Temple Connection puzzle game? Lots of challenges to solve and a gorgeous design made with high quality materials. It's what we've come to expect with SmartGames, and this one is no exception. Perfect for those looking for a challenge or simply to enrich your puzzle game's collection.

Ever since I started my puzzle collection, slide puzzles were among my favorites. Any puzzle that has a sliding mechanism to solve fascinates me. Be it wood, plastic, metal or glass, the material is not important. Size doesn't matter either, as anything from a 3x3 grid onward will interest me the all the same.

Design and execution is what I value most in a slide puzzle. The actual concept and how that idea was translated to the final product is what in the end will captivate my attention. After all, a puzzle is eye-candy, too. This and more is why Butterflies by Raf Peeters is among my top 5 favorite SmartGames ever.

Simplicity wins over complex and overthought concepts this time. How a mere 3x3 slide puzzle could have this effect on me is hard to explain in words, but I'll do my best. If not to justify my love and enthusiasm for this puzzle, at least I'll try to convince you on why you should add this puzzle to your collection.

(Click to Enlarge) - Challenge 6

Let's start by packaging and design.

SmartGames have introduced recently their latest packaging, which not only reduces materials and size, but is also very practical for on the go puzzling. The puzzle itself is bigger than your traditional pocket-sized slide puzzles (15cm or 5.9"), but in this case it actually works best, because you need a bigger puzzle to appreciate the artwork.

Each of the eight tiles is decorated on one side with a unique configuration of different butterflies and half butterflies (we'll go into that in a moment). The other side is empty, because you won't need artwork on all eight tiles at the same time on many of the included 48 challenges. The actual sliding of the tiles, which is the most important part in a sliding puzzle, is smooth and without any blocking or jamming.

(Click to Enlarge) - Challenge 28

How does it work?

In essence, Butterflies is not that different from the classic numbers sliding puzzle. The main goal, however, is a little different. Instead of trying to put the tiles in a specific order, the Butterflies puzzle works with edge-matching. It's not as straightforward as ordering numbers, because you need to study the tiles and work out where each one belongs. I'd say that it's a tad more difficult than a numbers puzzle, but if you can solve those you'll be fine with this one as well - It just takes some time to adjust how you think about this logic.

Each tile will have at least half a butterfly. After you set up a desired challenge from the booklet, the goal is work out how to put all the butterflies in their complete and symmetrical shape, just by sliding the tiles. Only sliding movements are permitted. Also, you can't leave half butterflies next to the boarders - That would be mean...

Another interesting aspect of this puzzle is that all 48 challenges can be solved in 32 moves or less. Can you do it for all of them?

Here's a tip for when you run out of challenges:

1- place some tiles on the board like you were setting up any of the other challenges, but make sure to leave only complete butterflies. Remember, you're setting up the final stage as if the puzzle were already complete.

2- now place any remaining tiles on their empty side so that the board is filled.

3- take a photo of the complete pattern.

4- Finally, mix all the tiles so that they appear to be all scrambled and take another photo.

Do this a dozen times or more and you'll have several new puzzles to solve!

(Click to Enlarge) - Challenge 38

Closing Comments:

If you haven't worked it out by now, I absolutely loved the Butterflies puzzle. It's such an enjoyable little puzzle, and very hard to put it down once you start. I'm a sucker for sliding puzzles, and the design and concept of the Butterflies has it all in its favor. I'd love to see other grid sizes with the same design, maybe a 4x4 and a 5x5 - bigger sizes would start to feel overwhelming.

I highly recommend this one if you have an interest for sliding puzzles.

With Summer fast approaching, nothing better than a cool breeze from the Antarctic with the company of a few penguins for a Pool Party. "Organized" by Raf Peeters and "hosted" by SmartGames, Pool Party is a fun packing puzzle game for all kids aged 6 and up.

For anyone that likes packing puzzles, Penguins Pool Party is a simple but fun little game with just four pieces and four tokens. Don't underestimate it though, because the most difficult challenges will make you think hard and use your solving skills to the max.

(Click to Enlarge) - Challenge 19

The design is, as always, flawless. A beautiful presentation with high quality materials combine to deliver a great game that's accessible even to someone who's not used to play puzzle games on a regular basis. Each piece consists of four slanted hexagonal ice blocks joined at different angles to provide four non-identical shapes. These pieces will then have to be placed in the game board with the penguin tokens taking the other four empty spaces left on the board. Since the more difficult challenges use less penguins than the easier ones, some empty places will remain on the board.

Solving the first challenges is quite easy: just choose any of the provided 60 puzzles in the booklet and place the penguins as shown. The goal is to place the four pieces around the penguins without covering them. Seems easy, but the unusual shapes of the blocks will certainly confuse you. To make matters worse in later challenges, less penguins means empty spaces, but as you're solving a challenge you won't know which spaces are supposed to be empty, you just know how many. It's this uncertainty, however, that makes the game so interesting and fun to solve. As usually, there's only one solution per challenge, so if you can place all pieces around the penguins you'll know you've solved it.

(Click to Enlarge) - Challenge 40

Closing Comments:

A perfect puzzle to take with you on your summer vacation, Penguins Pool Party is another great example of what makes SmartGames' games so appealing. The themes are well chosen and presented to a high and careful attention to detail that makes each game very unique and have its own personality. Can't recommend it enough.

Puzzle of the Week

About Me

Gabriel

I'm 34 and currently live in Portugal.
My favorite hobby and greatest interest is collecting and solving mechanical puzzles.
I started my collection in August 2008 with... The Rubik's Cube, what else? I guess that's the puzzle many collectors will say that started their collections as well.
I also have a website that shows all the puzzles in my collection. You can check it out @ mypuzzles.xtreemhost.com

If you have a new mechanical puzzle and would like a review for it, contact me.